Cover reveal for Marriage before Death

In designing the cover I was inspired by Lenny’s impression of the girl with the red beret: “a slender girl whose hair was covered. It was tucked into a red beret, which was tilted, a bit whimsically, over her head.”  Because this cover depicts a later scene in the story, some of her hair has slinked out of her beret. 

In another scene, where he is about to be selected to die, he describes her coming into the selection court. “I had never known her to paint her lips and was astonished at how brightly they were outlined, how red. Oh, how seductive she looked! How different from the girl I used to know!” 
In the background is a dark forest, into which she has parachuted shortly before D-Day. A faint, subtle texture of branches appears also inside the word Death in the title. The forest is where she meets with bands of French Resistance Fighters, and where she promises to “make the sky rain weapons” for them.

★ Love suspense? Treat yourself to a thrill ★

Marriage before Death

Paperback ★ Hardcover 

Audiobook

Summer turning to fall

The mood was altered, not only for me but also for my sweetheart. After hanging up the receiver we stumbled into silence. 

After a while I offered to escort her to Mrs. Babcock’s home, but Natasha refused. She kissed me goodbye, a bit hurriedly, and said that a long walk, by herself, would do her good. 

I watched her walking away from me, her figure shrinking into the distance under the London Plane trees. Stiff-textured leaves were swirling in the evening breeze. One of them, lobed like the palm of a hand, landed on my shoulder as if to say, don’t take it to heart. This had been a long day. Things were bound to look brighter, come next morning.

Yes, I said to myself. Natasha must have been exhausted now, and so was I. What’s more, her Ma was an expert in taking control of the conversation, which was why it took the wind out of both of us. But tomorrow, Natasha would come back for me, really she would.

I took a stroll in the opposite direction, then stood a long time by the fountain, watching other couples coming by, walking hand-in-hand. 

A street performer tried, several times, to gather some of them into an audience, all in vain. No one paid attention to him. Perhaps it was too late. The sky was getting darker. Time to go home.

He stopped by my side, perhaps sensing my sadness, and sang, in the softest voice,

When we kissed goodbye in old Mayfair

Forever I’ll recall

Chill was trembling in the air

Summer turning to fall

When you left—I may be wrong—

But it was too hard to bear

A nightingale stopped singing in the middle of a song

As the silence lingering over Berkeley square.

Excerpt from Dancing with Air by Uvi Poznansky

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

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Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

He sensed her desire

The smells of fresh air, salt water, seagulls, and fish washed over him and he breathed deep. Roasting hot in the desert he’d made this image his mantra, his oasis. He’d imagined the coarse desert sand beneath his fingers was softer and studded with broken shells. Instead of gunfire in the distance he told himself he heard the lapping of waves against the shore.

Being here now, with Zoe, was another image he would add to his memory bank for later times of crisis.

The sand was easier to navigate than he thought it might be, to his relief. The last thing he wanted to do was drop the kayak, or fall and either embarrass himself or hurt Zoe.

“Want to set your end down first?” she asked. He knew it was a nice way of telling him what to do.

“Sure.”

She lowered her side and then flipped the kayak over. Dropping the beach bag, she grinned and spread her arms wide, her face tilted up to the blue sky and puffy white clouds.

“God, I’ve missed this. It’s been so hot, and we’ve all been working so hard to keep going that I’ve felt guilty sneaking away to the beach. But I need it.” She knelt on the sand, taking out their towels and setting them out.

“I know what you mean.”

She looked up at him, her face shadowed by the bill of her baseball cap. “Yes?”

He reached down for a bottle of water. The walk had been invigorating, he told himself, ignoring the tweak of pain along his hip bone. The kayak would be great exercise without straining any muscles. “I’ve missed the beach.” Brayden kept his deeper thoughts to himself.

“Let me put some sunscreen on you,” she said.

He held his arms to his sides as she lifted the spray bottle from the beach bag. He winced at the unexpected coolness of the mist. “Want me to do you?”

She laughed softly. “Maybe later. Sorry I fell asleep last night.” Zoe skimmed her fingers over his arm, tracing the tribal tattoo that banded his biceps.

All of a sudden the air between them changed, charged into something sensual and heated.

He sensed her desire…watched her eyes darken. In the times they’d been apart, he’d never once cheated on Zoe. Marriage to him meant commitment, and a promise of fidelity.

Excerpt from Coming Home by the Sea by Traci Hall

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

Love in Times of War

No longer available

Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

The heat between them ignited

“I’m trying to thank you properly,” she said and before he could second guess her intentions, she scooted forward on the seat and kissed him square on the mouth.  The height advantage he used against women, she had neutralized with her position in the cab, and the heat between them ignited.  

He threaded his hand into her hair and the other moved to encase the bottom they had recently been discussing.  A step forward for him, and a nudge of his arm had her flush against him, and he was driving.  She was not a passive participant, and they couldn’t angle heads and lips to get close enough.  When she looped those gorgeous legs around him and hauled him the rest of the way against her core, he was lost.  In that second of time, he wanted something more than his past, his future in the military, and his quiet existence without pain and struggle.  He didn’t just want her, he needed her.  She made him feel alive, wanted… needed…loved.

Excerpt from A Soldier's Promise by Angelica Kate

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

No longer available

Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

If you hadn’t been here tonight

“Oh, thank you, Zach.” Spinning around, Beth wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t know what I would’ve done, if you hadn’t been here tonight.”

 “Yeah,” he muttered, into her ear. “What the heck were you guys doing down here, anyway, in this kind of weather? We had a couple of tornadoes pass through last summer, and it doesn’t look like any work was ever done to clear away the debris.”

For a moment she stilled. He seemed to be angry, but staring into Zach’s eyes, Beth could see they were filled with obvious concern.

“That’s my fault,” she said. “I told Cal not to worry about the exterior property until spring.”

For some weird reason, Zach looked at her again and froze. After slowly disentangling himself from her arms, he tied up his hood more securely around his neck. Stepping down to the ground beside the staircase, he reached for Beth’s hand. 

Excerpt from Two Hearts Unspoken by Tamara Ferguson

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

Love in Times of War

No longer available

Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

The Edge of Revolt is a colorful story that moves forward with tension and suspense

Here is a lovely new review, written by Aaron Paul Lazar. Aaron is a mystery writer author, and many of his books have audiobook editions. I am thrilled by what he says about the audiobook edition of my Historical Fiction novel, The Edge of Revolt:

Aaron P. Lazar07-08-17

Overall

Performance

Story

• "A literary gem!"

  I’ve always enjoyed books by Uvi Poznansky, they are inevitably written with great skill and literary charm. This story is no exception. What astounds me about this series, however, is the amount of incredible research needed to pull off such a feat.
  
  How Ms. Poznansky created such a vivid, detailed, true-to-life account leaves me awestruck. It’s as if she peered inside the Bible, spoke with the characters and witnesses who were there, and then created a realistic and moving portrait of David’s life.
  
  I listened to the audiobook version of this title, and was delighted with the quality and variety of the narrator’s character voices. From young man to elderly King, or from man to woman, Bob Sterry provided distinct and unique voices that made the story with many, many characters easy to follow. He also provided some unique talent during the passages where King David sings, with a rich voice definitely suited to this role.
  
  The most impactful part of listening to this book, however, had to do with the emotions drawn from me during the process. I was literally yelling at characters during my drive to and from work, which must have made for some interesting comments by passers by. I grew to hate Amnon, understand Absalom, and was incredibly frustrated and angry at the main character for not standing up for his own daughter when she was violated. Sure, I know he had reasons, but to me—as a father—these reasons were not even close to sufficient. I felt fury and outrage and empathy and fear. There aren’t too many books that can bring forth such raw emotions in the retelling of Bible stories, are there? (To be clear, I am not very familiar with the original Bible stories which generated this book, and I’m reacting only as a reader of fiction, most certainly not as a Biblical historian.)
  
  In addition to the riveting character studies, The Edge of Revolt is a colorful story that moves forward with tension and suspense, replete with intrigue and war, seduction and betrayal, and filled with spies of varying loyalties drifting through the King’s life.
  
  Ms. Poznansky is a gifted writer in all genres, but this story will stay with me for a very long time. Highly recommended as a learning tool as well as a satisfying fictional listen.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Entertaining Novel Is a Symphony of Words

I am delighted to find this beautiful review, written by a Top 100 Amazon Reviewer, for my WWII romance novel, The Music of Us:

5.0 out of 5 starsEntertaining Novel Is a Symphony of Words

ByA. ReaderTOP 100 REVIEWERon July 9, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Words can be melodic, and author Uvi Poznansky’s book at times reads like a symphony. This is the music of love, elegantly written with an essence of bittersweet romance. It is a celebration of the wonderful feelings people experience during the early days of getting to know each other, written in the heartbreak and shadows of later years.

The book does end abruptly, with the specter of uncertainty hovering above Lenny and Natasha as they deal with the possibility of her illness (this is revealed in the beginning of the story). I am not a fan of continued stories, but I must add that the author’s focus was on the story of the pair’s romance before marriage. As Ms. Poznansky successfully described that period in full, this book should be regarded as complete.

As a warning to those who read this book and wish to read the next offering, stop reading when you reach the words “Continued with Dancing With Air, Volume IV of Still Life With Memories.” If you read further, you will find spoilers that will reveal information about the previous as well as the upcoming books.

Though this is not a genre I usually read, I was captivated by the excellence of the prose and the presentation of the story. While a romance novel, there is no in-your-face sex or objectionable language to get in the way of what is a wonderful story relating the growth of love between two people. Five stars.

Tell us if there was any one thing that motivated you to write

Rik Stone grew up amidst the slum-lands of fifties North East England and left school at fifteen without academic qualifications, only to become an accomplished author and pursue his dream of writing later in life. I am honored that he invited me for an interview on his new website. His first question to me was, "Tell us if there was any one thing that motivated you to write in the first place?" To read my answer and the entire interview, click here:

AUTHOR UVI POZNANSKY

I hope you’ll ask me again soon

Reaching up with his right hand, he grabbed my shoulder. I watched it happen in slow motion. The look of concern on his face, his muscular arm, tan from a summer at the lake, slowly rising with the open hand coming toward me, I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be wonderful, like the cool hand shake? Or painful, like the hand on my back? If I thought hard enough, I could still feel the place where the touch of his finger burned my neck. 

Amazingly, I knew it was going to be good. As that hand came toward me, I felt the sensation of expectation throughout the upper left side of my body, goose bumps rising before he even made contact with me. Something told me I was going to have to be very careful around Wax Spencer. 

“Do you want to come in? We have iced tea.” 

I wanted to slug her, but he’d have seen so I just stayed quiet. 

“No thanks. My team waits for me,” he said pointing over his shoulder toward his house. “But I hope you’ll ask me again soon.”

Then he looked at me, raptly in my eyes. “Tomorrow at eight, correct?” 

Speechless, I nodded my head.

Excerpt from Mademoiselle by Suzanne Jenkins

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

Love in Times of War

No longer available

Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

Yeah, baby, pack your summer duds, girl!

Then, there was Ellie’s reaction to the whereabouts of my reassignment. Priceless, and one for the treasury…

“You’re being stationed in Bermuda?” she exclaimed. “Oh, my God, that’s awesome!”

I picked her up and swung her around. “Yeah, baby, pack your summer duds, girl! No more New York winters for us.”

After an amazing week of R&R, our parents drove us to the airport in the New York City.

Our dads made a big show of controlling their emotions upon our departure, but that was cool. 

Big boys don’t cry.

“Don’t forget to write,” our moms called. “Send us plenty of pictures.”

Ellie and I waved as we headed towards the gate and our future.

“We will!” she and I cried in unison.

Excerpt from Lovin' Those Navy Games by Susan Jean Ricci

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

Love in Times of War

No longer available

Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER

Second Chance Blog Tour for @suzannejenkins3

Second Chance

Pam of Babylon series, book 15
by Suzanne Jenkins

Uvi has done it again with My Own Voice.

Elaine C. Pereira is a Multi-Award Winning, Best Selling Memoir I Will Never Forget, in which she describes the compelling story of her once brilliant mother’s journey through the dark abyss of dementia. I am honored that she read my book, My Own Voice:

5.0 out of 5 starsUvi has done it again with My Own Voice.

ByElaine C Pereiraon June 20, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Own Voice (Still Life with Memories Book 1) (Kindle Edition)

Uvi has done it again with My Own Voice and like her other books in the series, I'm a fan. Well written. Well developed characters. Open dialogue that can raise eyebrows at times, My Own Voice does it all. This is not a fluff piece, but a real life - not literally but it could be - drama filled, honest read that shows relationships when they're gritty.

Why didn’t you ever come back to me?

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

––William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

“Finally, we meet again,” he said so low, so deeply, she almost couldn’t hear it. Truth be told, she probably wouldn’t have been able to hear much of anything he said, her heartbeat was rattling so loudly inside her chest.

When he took her hand to kiss it, it amazed her how wobbly and unsteady her knees felt, as if she had just been hit hard by a low-lying branch. Yet, she didn’t fall. Instead, for the first time in weeks, a broad smile appeared on her face.

“Oh Hannah,” he murmured and leaned in close, still holding her hand. “Why didn’t you ever come back to me?”

“I swear I tried, truly I did, but I kept being stopped by my family.” 

He gave her a quizzical look, but she knew now was not the time to be truthful. So much had escalated since their last meeting.

“Shall we go out onto the balcony?” he asked. 

Nodding, she let him guide her outdoors, away from the waltzes, and the general conversation growing more sonorous by the hour. The evening chill had remained at its peak and the distant sound of soldiers maneuvering in their tented camps served as a soft, pleasant background.

On their way outside, he glanced over at another woman, then hesitated. 

“Who is that?” she asked.

 He stared at her, gave a quick shrug, and said nothing.

At least, he wasn’t connected with the woman. A wave of relief washed over her. 

“How is your vest?” She giggled at the stains. “So sorry.”

Grinning, he shook his head. “That’s all right. Our bumping into one another is one of the better things happening these days.” 

Excerpt from Genteel Secrets by S.R. Mallery

Included in Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Get this amazing collection

Love in Times of War

No longer available

Sail into danger, explore passion and intrigue in these twelve love stories about the heart of men called to serve in dangerous locales and the valiance of women who long for them to come home. You will find yourself inspired by this collection, written by multi award-winning, USA Today and International bestselling authors.

"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!" 

-Off Grid...And Loving It... TOP 500 REVIEWER